Second half of FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour starting in Switzerland

One of the all-time popular tour stops, Gstaad will host the world’s best beach volleyball tandems for the 12th consecutive year.

Lausanne, Switzerland, July 8, 2013 – After
crowning new champions from China and The Netherlands at the ninth annual
$1million FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, Mazury 2013 this past week
in Stare Jablonki, Poland the second half of the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball
World Tour starts this week in Switzerland at the $440,000 FIVB Gstaad Grand
Slam. One of the all-time popular tour stops, Gstaad will host the world’s best
beach volleyball tandems for the 12th consecutive year.

Following the stop in Switzerland, the FIVB
World Tour returns to the United States for the first time in 10 years when it
visits Southern California for the $440,000 FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam, July
22-27 for another double-gender event.

A pair of new teams, both with veterans,
Brazil continues to lead both the men and women’s FIVB Beach Volleyball
standings. Riding atop the men’s season point standings is Brazil’s new team of
Pedro Salgado/Bruno Oscar Schmidt while leading the women’s action is another
new Brazilian team, Talita Antunes/Taiana Lima.

While Brazil is at the top of the FIVB
World Tour midway through the 2013 season, the new FIVB Beach Volleyball World
Champions are Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen and China’s Chen
Xue/Xi Zhang. Netherlands’ Brouwer/Meeuwsen defeated Brazil’s Alvaro Filho/Ricardo
Santos in straight sets for the gold medal. It was the first FIVB victory for
either player and improved the previous best FIVB World Championship finish for
Netherlands of ninth place in 2007. On the women’s side, four different
Confederations were featured in the final four with China’s Xue/Zhang claiming
their second FIVB victory of the season with a three-set win over surprising
Karla Borger/Britta Buthe of Germany. It was Xue/Zhang’s 14th FIVB World Tour
career victory, all together as partners. China became the first country other
than Brazil or the United States to win a women’s FIVB World Championship gold
medal.

After an exciting mid-season break from the
FIVB World Tour in Poland, midway through the men’s FIVB international season,
Brazil’s Salgado/Schmidt have collected 3,620 points and lead Latvia’s
second-place Janis Smedins/Aleksandrs Samoilovs by 280 points and Brazil’s
third place Ricardo Santos/Alvaro Filho by 370 points. In the season earnings
race, Brazil’s Salgado/Schmidt lead with $105,775, followed by Latvia’s Smedins/Samoilovs
with $94,700 and Brazil’s Ricardo/Filho with $91,500. All three of the top
teams are playing in their first full season together.

In 2013 FIVB women’s international
competition, Brazil’s Antunes/Lima duo continues to lead at the midway point in
the season with 3,450 points and $113,500 in earnings. Second in both
categories is China’s veteran duo of Xue/Zhang with 3,020 points and $81,000
while third in points is Madelein Meppelink/Sophie van Gestel of the
Netherlands with 2,990 points and third among the money leaders is Germany’s
rapidly improving Borger/Buthe with $78,300.

Statistically in FIVB men’s international
competition, Brazil’s Salgado/Schmidt duo has a 30-10 match record so far for a
75.0% winning percentage, third highest. Based on winning percentage to date,
USA’s Phil Dalhausser/Sean Rosenthal team remains first at 85.2% (23-4),
followed by Latvia’s Smedins/Samoilovs at 80.0% (28-7), Brazil’s
Salgado/Schmidt, Poland’s Grzegorz Fijalek/Mariusz Prudel at 75.0% (24-8),
USA’s Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson tandem at 71.9% (23-9), Italy’s Paolo
Nicolai/Daniele Lupo at 71.9% (23-9) and the Netherlands’ Brouwer/Meeuwsen at 71.0%
(22-9).

Half way through this year’s FIVB women’s
international play, Brazil’s Antunes/Lima duo has the second highest winning
percentage at 82.19% (29-6) as China’s Xue/Zhang have only played three times
so far and have a 90.0% (18-2) to lead. Third is USA’s Jennifer Kessy/April
Ross at 77.8% (21-6), followed by Brazil’s Liliane Maestrini/Barbara Seixas at
75.0% (27-9), Netherlands’ Meppelink/van Gestel at 75.0% (27-9) and Brazilian sisters
Maria Clara Salgado/Carolina Salgado at 74.3% (22-8) to complete the top six.

Two women’s teams tied for seventh and all
also considered contenders for podium finishes at 71.9% (23-9 each) are
Germany’s Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler and Brazil’s Maria Antonelli/Agatha
Bednarczuk.

On the FIVB men’s international season
scorecard, USA’s Dalhausser/Rosenthal (Fuzhou, Rome) has won two gold medals
while USA’s Gibb/Patterson (Shanghai), Latvia’s Smedins/Samoilovs (Corrientes),
Brazil’s Salgado/Schmidt (The Hague) and Netherlands’ Brouwer/Meeuwsen (Stare
Jablonki) each have one gold medal so far this season.

On the FIVB women’s international season
scorecard, Brazil’s Antunes/Lima (Shanghai, The Hague and Rome) have three gold
medals while China’s Xue/Zhang has now won two gold medals this year (Fuzhou
and Stare Jablonki) and Netherlands’ van Gestel/Meppelink (Corrientes) has one
gold medal at the midpoint of the season.

The 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour
is comprised of 10 Grand Slam events and the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball World
Championships. Not part of the World Tour but still counting towards the FIVB
World Rankings, the FIVB yearly calendar also includes seven Open events
throughout the world to help open the door for development of the sport.

The 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour
will end in Brazil with the $440,000 FIVB São Paulo Grand Slam to be held
October 9-13.